Printing-telegraph



(No Model.) 2 SheetsShee1t 1 J. E, WOODBRIDGB. PRINTING TELEGRAPH.

No. 552,738. Patented Jan. 7, 1896.

I I I I I I I I AKDRDN BGRAHAM.HIGTWIJMQWASHINGTUIHC,

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. J. E. WOODBRID-GE. PRINTING TELEGRAPH.

'llNrrn STATES JONATHAN EDlVARDS \VOODBRIDGE, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

PRINTING-TELEGRAPH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,738, dated January 7, 1896.

Application filed October 7, 1895. Serial No. 564,910. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN EDWARDS \VOODBRIDGE, a resident of Duluth, Minne' sota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Printing-Telegraphs, which are fully set forth in the following specification.

The present invention relates to printingtelegraphs, and comprises certain improvements upon the system described and claimed in United States Letters Patent granted to me November 5, 1895, and numbered 549,179; but some of the improvements hereinafter described and claimed may be used in other systems of telegraphy.

The transmitter has been simplified by providing a special shift-key to send to line the firstimpulse which operates the shift-magnet. This key in its normal position causes, say, a plus impulse to go to line, and in its depressed position a minus impulse, the characters of most frequent occurrence being arranged in that row on the type-wheel which is in the printing position when the shiftmagnet is traversed by aplus impulse. Consequently only three tilting pole-changing frames are required, one for each stop-magnet, and but twenty-seven, instead of fiftyfour, character-keys are required, each key having two characters assigned to it upon a principle common in type-writers.

The printing and paper-feed mechanisms have been simplified and greatly improved in point of rapidity and certainty of action.

Heretofore the printing-shaft was thrown into operation by a clutch operated by the printing-magnet. According to the present invention this shaft is actuated by a spring which is kept Wound up by a continuouslyrotating motor, the shaft being held normally stationary by the armature of the printingmagnct. lVhen the circuit of the latter is closed the printing-shaft is released, immediately making a revolution, actuating the printingarm. Said shaft also carries the finger of a Geneva stop mechanism, the notched wheel thereof being on the shaft of one of the feed-rolls of the paper-feed mechanism, thus feeding the paper forward one space before the printing-shaft completes its revolution.

In place of the two main-line relays a double relay has been devised having two mainline coils arranged parallel to each other. The cores of these coils have each a polar projection at each end, as in the VVheatstone relay, and between each pair of polar pro- ,jections is a tongue or armature, the armatures being independently movable, and in that respect diifering from the Vheatstone relay. The relay also has amagnetizing-core and pole-pieces, taking the place of apermanent magnet. In a relay so constructed one armature will respond to positive and the other to negative impulses. The commutator mechanism at the receiving end of the line has also been improved in such manner as to dispense with one of the three-point switches, to reduce the number of batteries and to simplify the circuits.

These and other improvements will be more fully understood from the following detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the apparatus and the circuit connections. Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section showing a portion of the keyboard and pole-changing mechanism of the transmitter. Fig. 3 is a plan view of part of the printing mechanism. Fig. at is an end elevation thereof. Figs. 5 and 6 are details in end and side elevation of the double relay.

The construction and operation of the several parts of the system, except as hereinafter pointed out, are or may be the same as described in my aforesaid patent. The transmitter has an ordinary keyboard similar to that of a Remington type-writer.

The pole-changer which determines the direction of the first line-impulse, or that which operates the shift-magnet M, is connected directly with a key U which may be termed the shift-key, instead of being con nected with and operated by a tilting frame. Vhen so constructed each character-key had to be provided with means for operating the tilting frame of pole-changer 7 0, since an impulse must always go to line when switch-arn1 S is on plate 50. changer '70 directly with a special key one of the tilting frames and its actuating devices can be dispensed with, leaving only three frames '1" T T Fig. 2.

Each key-lever U has, as before, two up- By connecting the pole-- rights U, provided with projections 10 for operating the tilting frames. Moreover the number of keys is reduced to half, it not being necessary to provide a separate key for each character as before. Each key can by this arrangement have two characters assigned to it, the pair of characters being those occupying corresponding positions in the two rows of type on the type-wheel.

As shown the contact-plate of pole-changer 7U normally connects the line-terminal with the plate 5i connected with the positive pole of main battery MB, so that the first line-im pulse, when the key is in its usual position, will be positive. At the receiving end the letters of the alphabet with the character 6t may be arranged in one row, on type-wheel A, and the figures, pun ctuation-marks and characters less frequently used in the other. The

first row will be in the printing position when the shift-magnet M has responded to a positive impulse. Hence in transmitting,the shiftkey is only used for characters in the second row of type.

The other pole-changers 71 7 2 73, which respectively control the stop-magnets M M M normally rest as before on. an in sulating-strip 57 between the positive and negative terminal plates 54 55 of the main battery. The terminal plates 61 (S2 (53 are connected respectively with the commutator-plates 51 52 53 and the center of the main battery is connected to ground, as before, by a wire 50.

Referring to the apparatus at the receiving end of the line, shaft B of printing-wheel A has a sleeve B loose thereon, and on the latter is the pulley Z) held by frictional contact (due to the pressure of spring 0) between 001- lars c on said sleeve. The pressure of spring 0 can be adjusted by a nut (4 Arm B fast on sleeve B is attached at one end to spiral spring 0, which is the driving-spring, the other end of the latter being attached to shaft 13. Pulley b is continuously rotated by a cord, as heretofore, keeping spring 0 wound up, the pulley slipping against the pressure of its frictional holding devices when spring 0 is at its utmost tension. Printing-shaftf also carries a constantly driven pulley f loose thereon, but connected with the shaft by the frictional contact of collars f maintained by spring f, adjustable by means of a nut f. This shaft carries a finger G, which normally engages the hooked end of one branch of the forked armature m of printing-magnet M Obviously when the armature m is in its normal position pulley f 2 rotates idly, but when the armature is attracted by its 1nagnet, which occurs as soon as the type-wheel has turned to its printing position, shaft F is released and makes a complete revolution, during the first part of which an eccentric thereon actuates printing-lever N, causing the printing-roller n on the end thereof to press the paper against the type. Shaft F also carries the finger 0 of at Geneva stop mechanism, the notched wheel P thereof being on a short shaft 0, which carries a serrated feedroller 0 The paper strip passes, as indicated, between this roller and a companion roller 0 carried on the end of an arm P Conse quently during the last part of the revolution of shaft F the paper is fed forward one step. During this part of the'revolution also, finger G makes contact with the other branch m of the forked armature, restoring it positively, but it may be restored by a spring 011 G represents an inking-roller.

The double relay which is to take the place of the two relays has the two main-line coils R R and the magnetizing-coil R At one end of the coils R R is the positive armature r and at the other the negative armature 0*. These armatures are, for the purposes of this invention, biased in opposite directions. Each armature is between pole-pieces r 7'", which are extensions of the cores of the linecoils R R, and each is magnetized by apolar projection r or r of the core of the magnetizing-coil. The armatures are separately pivoted so as to act independently, this being the chief structural difference between this relay and the \Vheatstone relay. Obviously this relay will perform all the functions of two \Vheatstone or other polarized relays in a system such as described, or in other systems where two relays are required. The connections of the relay could be reversed, using coil R as the line-coil and coils R R as magnetizing-coils.

Referring to the diagram Fig. 1 the principal change is in the construction of the main and auxiliary commutators. The main commutator, which controls the circuit of the shift-magnet M and stop-magnets M M M through local battery LB, has eight contactplates, instead of four, and the auxiliary commutator has sixteen plates instead of eight. For each character the switch-arms s s of the main and auxiliary commutators make half a revolution, the contact-plates of each being duplicated or composed of two series, the corresponding plates of each series being elec trically connected, as shown. Thus plate 10 of the main commutator is connected by a wire to plate 10, both being in the circuit of shift magnet M, plate 11 is connected to 11, and both to stop-magnet M, and so on. Escapement-magnet M and its mechanism are the same as before in construction and operation. This magnet, through lever p and escapement-wheel 1), permits a step-by-step movement in a well-known manner to the shaft 19 on which the switch-arms s s are mounted. Switch-arm s of the auxiliary commutator IIO normally rests 011 plate 7:, but at the first 4 movement of the shaft it passes to plate 4;, which, as heretofore, sends a current from a local battery LB through the escapementmagnet M reversing the movement of lever 13 and permitting shaft 1 to move another step.

It will. be observed that plate 1 and every alternate plate e r &c., until we reach the plate 1;, directly opposite the starting-plate o, are connected together and to wire 28, leading to the back-stop of armature r, while the plates 0%, &c., are connected in like manner to the wire 26, leading to the back-stop of armature r. Switch-arm s isitself connected by a wire 50 to one side of battery LB. Hence the circuit, when the switch-arm is on plate 7), is from battery LB by wire 50 to the switcharm 3, to plate r, wire 28, armature 7', wire 17, through escapement-magnet M to the other side of battery LB.

The only new feature in the commutator is the use of the plate c (heretofore a dead plate having no electrical connection) and its companion plate if" for controlling the circuit of printing-magnet M As shown, plate v is connected by wire 40 to one terminal 38 of a three-point switch, and wire 41 leads to the other terminal 39, the movable arm thereof being controlled, as heretofore, by the printing-shaft. The plates o o and arm 5 therefore constitute a three-point switch, replacing the separate three-point switch heretofore used. Arm (1 is, as shown, resting upon terminal 39, and the circuit of printing-magnet M is consequently open until arm 5 reaches plate 4;, which will occur when arm 8 has reached plate 10, having set all the stopmagne'ts. At this time the circuit of magnet M is closed through local battery LB, as is obvious from the diagram. The printingshaft then rotates, performing the operations heretofore described, and also transferring arm (1 to terminal 38, so that the circuit of magnet ill will again be closed when arm .9 reaches resting-plate r. Battery LB is thus used both to operate the printing-magnet M and also to energize the escapement-magnet M to throw back the lever 19 and to work it forward in the absence of a line-impulse.

Except as herein pointed out, the system is constructed and operated as described in my above-mentioned patent. The stop-magnets M M M are designed to operate singly or in various combinations, to determine the position of a stop capable of arresting the type wheel A at any one of its printing positions, the armature of each stop-magnet having three functional positions, one of which is determined by a positive line-impulse, one by a negative line-impulse, and one by the omission of the corresponding impulse. As this stop mechanism is fully described in my patent aforesaid and forms no part of the present invention I have not shown it in the drawings accompanying this specification. Furthermore, it is evident that the improvements herein described, or many of them, may be used in various known systems of printing telegraphs and other telegraph systems.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In the transmitter the combination of the commutator, the series of pole-changers, the

key-levers, one of said pole-changers being connected directly with a key-lever, and actuating mechanism for shifting the other polechangers, each key-lever, except that connected directly with a pole-changer, being arranged to control a diiferent combination of pole-changers, substantially as described.

2. In a printing telegraph system having at the receiving station a type-Wheel with the type arranged in two parallel rows, a magnet for shifting the type-wheel, and electro-magnetic mechanism for causing the type-wheel to rotate to and assume different axial posi tions, the combination of a commutator and pole-changers at the transmitting station for sending to line negative and positive impulses, a shift-key connected directly with one of said pole-changers, character keys and intermediate mechanism for setting the other pole-changers, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the printing shaft and the type-wheel of a constantly driven pulley having a frictional connection with said shaft, an armature normally holding said shaft stationary, a printing lever and paper feed mechanism actuated by the rotation of said shaft, substantially as described.

4. In a printingtelegraph receiver, the combination with the type-wheel, of a printing shaft, a constantly driven pulley thereon frictionally connected with said shaft, aprinting magnet, an armature normally engaging and holding a finger on said shaft, said armature having a branch with which said finger makes contact before completing a revolution, thereby restoring said armature positively, paper feed-mechanism, and a printing lever actuated by the movement of said shaft, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a type-wheel or impressiondevice, of a printing shaft and means for rotating it intermittently, paper feed rolls, and a Geneva-stop mechanism for actuating said rolls, operated by said shaft, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a type-wheel, of a printing shaft and means for rotating it intermittently, a printing lever operated by said shaft during its revolution, paper feed-rolls, and a Geneva-stop mechanism, for actuating said rolls operated by said shaft after the printing lever has made its stroke, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the type-wheel, the printing-shaft and means for rotating the printing shaft, of paper feed mechanism comprising a Geneva-stop, the finger being actuated by said shaft, and the notched-wheel being connected with the paper feed rolls, substantially as described.

8. In a telegraph receiver, the combination of the distributing commutator controlling the circuits of a local battery, and having two se ries of contact plates, escapement mechanism for actuating the switch-arm of the commutator, an auxiliary commutator having two series of contact plates connected in circuit In testimony whereof I have signed this with the escapeinent magnet, and two resting specification in the presence of two subscrib plates, a printing magnet, and a three-point ing witnesses.

switch having its stationary terminals con- JONATHAN EDWARDS WOODBHDGE. 5 nected respectively with said resting plates, Vitnesses:

and its movable part with said printing mag- PHILIP MAURO,

net, substantially as described. L. lVHITE. 

